The story of Mr. Ma Seo Chu, head of Kho Vang village, Coc Lau commune, Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province, who saved 115 villagers from a landslide has been mentioned a lot in recent days. That story brings a positive light amidst the pain and sorrow caused by natural disasters.

Along with the story of Ma Seo Chu, the image of the village chief of Lang Nu, where the tragedy occurred in Bao Yen district (Lao Cai), also moved the community with the dedication of the village chief Hoang Van Diep.

When he saw the heavy rains continuing, the village chief Ma Seo Chu immediately formed a group of energetic and healthy villagers to survey the mountain behind the village. When he discovered a 20cm wide, 30m long crack that posed a risk of disaster, the village chief, who was only in his 30s, immediately urged all the villagers to move to a safer mountain.

The young and strong men cut bamboo, set up tents, and stretched tarps, while the women worried about keeping the children and the elderly safe. And then, just as Mr. Ma Seo Chu had predicted, the mountain behind the village collapsed and buried everything. All their homes and belongings were lost, but the most important thing was that 115 residents were not buried. The shelter of the people of Kho Vang village was far from the center, and there was no phone contact.

The authorities came to the village, but did not see any people. Looking at the houses buried under the landslide, they thought that no one was left, and then, like a miracle, the people were still alive. And the one who created that miracle was the village chief Kho Vang. Some people jokingly said: Ma Seo Chu is the "gold mine" of Kho Vang village. That is a figure of speech to express admiration for the young village chief, because with the safety of 115 people, what gold, silver, or jewels can compare?

Not as lucky as the 115 people in Kho Vang village, the victims in Lang Nu also had a dedicated village chief. When the forces organized to search for the victims, village chief Hoang Van Diep knew every house, every location, every situation. He knew every detail, which made the journalists present at the scene very emotional. One must be very close and dedicated to the people to understand them so meticulously.

And the same village chief, for the past week, has been working with the forces to find each victim, find the body, arrange the funeral, bury; coordinate relief efforts, provide the survivors with clothes, pots to temporarily get through the painful, difficult days.

The two touching stories of the two village chiefs Ma Seo Chu and Hoang Van Diep make us admire them so much, but we cannot help but feel sad when, also in Lao Cai, during those days of continuous natural disasters, there were two commune chairmen who, instead of being present in their leadership positions to direct prevention and overcoming the consequences, stayed home because the road was collapsed and they could not go to the scene.

They are Mr. Ly A Khoa, 42 years old, Chairman of the People's Committee of Pa Cheo commune and Mr. Ma A Chung, 34 years old, Chairman of the People's Committee of Trung Leng Ho commune, Bat Xat district (Lao Cai). Both leaders of this commune have been temporarily suspended from work. The decision to temporarily suspend work by the People's Committee of Bat Xat district is based on Regulation 148 QD/TW dated May 23, 2024 on temporarily suspending work for "Cadres who deliberately delay, shirk, avoid responsibility, and do not perform work under their authority according to assigned functions and tasks".

If the two commune People's Committee chairmen had been properly punished, the government would certainly have given worthy rewards to the two village chiefs of Kho Vang and Lang Nu. This reward is not only to honor the decisive and dedicated actions of the two men, but this story is also a lesson for the cadre team, especially grassroots cadres in the mountainous areas.

Those who understand the Northwest region well almost all acknowledge the fact that every “chief” always has and needs to have the qualities of a “leader”. Perhaps the characteristics of a thousand-year life in the high mountains and deep forests, facing countless dangers and threats, have tempered such people.

The story of Ma Seo Chu's decisive move of the entire village (and the dedication of village chief Hoang Van Diep) is a very necessary leadership spirit and also needs to be honored, especially in the remote areas of the Northwest with many hardships that we have witnessed in the recent natural disasters.

AN DU